List of DOS

commands

This article presents a list of commands

used by DOS operating systems, especially
as used on x86-based IBM PC
compatibles (PCs). Other DOS operating
systems are not part of the scope of this
list.

In DOS, many standard system commands

were provided for common tasks such as
listing files on a disk or moving files. Some
commands were built into the command
interpreter, others existed as external
commands on disk. Over the several
generations of DOS, commands were
added for the additional functions of the
operating system. In the current Microsoft
Windows operating system, a text-mode
command prompt window, cmd.exe, can
still be used.

Command processing
The command interpreter for DOS runs
when no application programs are running.
When an application exits, if the transient
portion of the command interpreter in
memory was overwritten, DOS will reload it
from disk. Some commands are internal—
built into COMMAND.COM; others are
external commands stored on disk. When
the user types a line of text at the
operating system command prompt,
COMMAND.COM will parse the line and
attempt to match a command name to a
built-in command or to the name of an
executable program file or batch file on
disk. If no match is found, an error
message is printed, and the command
prompt is refreshed.

External commands were too large to keep

in the command processor, or were less
frequently used. Such utility programs
would be stored on disk and loaded just
like regular application programs but were
distributed with the operating system.
Copies of these utility command programs
had to be on an accessible disk, either on
the current drive or on the command path
set in the command interpreter.

In the list below, commands that can

accept more than one file name, or a
filename including wildcards (* and ?), are
said to accept a filespec (file
specification) parameter. Commands that
can accept only a single file name are said
to accept a filename parameter.
Additionally, command line switches, or
other parameter strings, can be supplied
on the command line. Spaces and
symbols such as a "/" or a "-" may be used
to allow the command processor to parse
the command line into filenames, file
specifications, and other options.

The command interpreter preserves the

case of whatever parameters are passed
to commands, but the command names
themselves and file names are case-
insensitive.

Many commands are the same across

many DOS systems, but some differ in
command syntax or name.
DOS commands
A partial list of the most common
commands for MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS
follows below.

APPEND

Sets the path to be searched for data files

or displays the current search path. The
APPEND command is similar to the PATH
command that tells DOS where to search
for program files (files with a .COM, . EXE,
or .BAT file name extension).

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later.[1]
ASSIGN

The command redirects requests for disk

operations on one drive to a different drive.
It can also display drive assignments or
reset all drive letters to their original
assignments.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3 through 5 and IBM PC DOS
releases 2 through 5.[1]

ATMDM

Lists connections and addresses seen by

Windows ATM call manager.

ATTRIB

Attrib changes or views the attributes of

one or more files. It defaults to display the
attributes of all files in the current
directory. The file attributes available
include read-only, archive, system, and
hidden attributes. The command has the
capability to process whole folders and
subfolders of files and also process all
files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3 and later.[1]

BACKUP and RESTORE

These are commands to backup and

restore files from an external disk. These
appeared in version 2, and continued to PC
DOS 5 and MS-DOS 6 (PC DOS 7 had a
deversioned check). In DOS 6, these were
replaced by commercial programs
(CPBACKUP, MSBACKUP), which allowed
files to be restored to different locations.[1]
BASIC and BASICA

An implementation of the BASIC

programming language for PCs.
Implementing BASIC in this way was very
common in operating systems on 8- and
16-bit machines made in the 1980s.

IBM computers had BASIC 1.1 in ROM, and

IBM's versions of BASIC used code in this
ROM-BASIC, which allowed for extra
memory in the code area. BASICA last
appeared in IBM PC DOS 5.02, and in OS/2
(2.0 and later), the version had ROM-BASIC
moved into the program code.

Microsoft released GW-BASIC for

machines with no ROM-BASIC. Some OEM
releases had basic.com and basica.com
as loaders for GW-BASIC.EXE.
BASIC was dropped after MS-DOS 4, and
PC DOS 5.02. OS/2 (which uses PC DOS 5),
has it, while MS-DOS 5 does not.

BREAK

This command is used to instruct DOS to

check whether the Ctrl and Break keys
have been pressed before carrying out a
program request.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

CALL

Starts a batch file from within another

batch file and returns when that one ends.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and later.[1]
CD and CHDIR

The CHDIR (or the alternative name CD)

command either displays or changes the
current working directory.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

CHCP

The command either displays or changes

the active code page used to display
character glyphs in a console window.
Similar functionality can be achieved with
MODE CON: CP SELECT=yyy .

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and later.[1]
CHKDSK

CHKDSK verifies a storage volume (for

example, a hard disk, disk partition or
floppy disk) for file system integrity. The
command has the ability to fix errors on a
volume and recover information from
defective disk sectors of a volume.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

CHOICE

The CHOICE command is used in batch

files to prompt the user to select one item
from a set of single-character choices.
Choice was introduced as an external
command with MS-DOS 6.0;[1][2] Novell
DOS 7[3] and PC DOS 7.0. Earlier versions
of DR-DOS supported this function with the
built-in switch command (for numeric
choices) or by beginning a command with
a question mark.[3] This command was
formerly called ync (yes-no-cancel).

CLS

The CLS or CLRSCR command clears the

terminal screen.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

COMMAND

Start a new instance of the command

interpreter.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]
COMP

Show differences between any two files, or

any two sets of files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 through 5 and IBM PC DOS
releases 1 through 5.[1]

COPY

Makes copies of existing files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

CTTY

Defines the terminal device (for example,

COM1) to use for input and output.[4]
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 2 and later.[1]

DATE

Displays the system date and prompts the

user to enter a new date. Complements
the TIME command.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

DBLBOOT

(Not a command: This is a batch file

added to DOS 6.X Supplemental Disks to
help create DoubleSpace boot floppies.[5])
DBLSPACE

A disk compression utility supplied with

MS-DOS version 6.0 (released in 1993) and
version 6.2.[1]

DEBUG

A very primitive assembler and

disassembler.

DEFRAG

The command has the ability to analyze

the file fragmentation on a disk drive or to
defragment a drive. This command is
called DEFRAG in MS-DOS/PC DOS and
diskopt in DR-DOS.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]
DEL and ERASE

DEL (or the alternative form ERASE) is

used to delete one or more files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

DELTREE

Deletes a directory along with all of the

files and subdirectories that it contains.
Normally, it will ask for confirmation of the
potentially dangerous action. Since the RD
(RMDIR) command can not delete a
directory if the directory is not empty
(except in Windows NT & 10), the DELTREE
command can be used to delete the whole
directory.
The deltree command is included in
certain versions of Microsoft Windows
and MS-DOS operating systems. It is
specifically available only in versions of
MS-DOS 6.0 and higher,[1] and in Microsoft
Windows 9x. In Windows NT, the
functionality provided exists but is handled
by the command rd or rmdir which has
slightly different syntax. This command is
not present in Windows 7 and 8. In
Windows 10, the command switch is RD
/S or RMDIR /S .

DIR

The DIR command displays the contents

of a directory. The contents comprise the
disk's volume label and serial number; one
directory or filename per line, including the
filename extension, the file size in bytes,
and the date and time the file was last
modified; and the total number of files
listed, their cumulative size, and the free
space (in bytes) remaining on the disk. The
command is one of the few commands
that exist from the first versions of DOS.[1]
The command can display files in
subdirectories. The resulting directory
listing can be sorted by various criteria and
filenames can be displayed in a chosen
format.

DISKCOMP

A command for comparing the complete

contents of a floppy disk to another one.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 1 and later.[1]
DISKCOPY

A command for copying the complete

contents of a diskette to another diskette.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

DOSKEY

A command that adds command history,

macro functionality, and improved editing
features to the command-line interpreter.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

DOSSIZE

Displays how much memory various DOS

components occupy.[6]
DRVSPACE

A disk compression utility supplied with

MS-DOS version 6.22.[1]

ECHO

The ECHO command prints its own

arguments back out to the DOS equivalent
of the standard output stream. (Hence the
name, ECHO) Usually, this means directly
to the screen, but the output of echo can
be redirected, like any other command, to
files or devices. Often used in batch files
to print text out to the user.

Another important use of the echo

command is to toggle echoing of
commands on and off in batch files.
Traditionally batch files begin with the
@echo off statement. This says to the
interpreter that echoing of commands
should be off during the whole execution
of the batch file, thus resulting in a "tidier"
output (the @ symbol declares that this
particular command (echo off) should
also be executed without echo.)

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

EDIT

EDIT is a full-screen text editor, included

with MS-DOS versions 5 and 6,[1] OS/2 and
Windows NT to 4.0 The corresponding
program in Windows 95 and later, and
Windows 2000 and later is Edit v2.0. PC
DOS 6 and later use the DOS E Editor and
DR-DOS used editor up to version 7.
EDLIN

DOS line-editor. It can be used with a script

file, like debug, this makes it of some use
even today. The absence of a console
editor in MS-DOS/PC DOS 1–4 created an
after-market for third-party editors.

In DOS 5, an extra command "?" was added

to give the user much-needed help.

DOS 6 was the last version to contain

EDLIN; for MS-DOS 6, it's on the
supplemental disks,[1] while PC DOS 6 had
it in the base install. Windows NT 32-bit,
and OS/2 have Edlin.

EMM386

The EMM386 command enables or

disables EMM386 expanded-memory
support on a computer with an 80386 or
higher processor.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

ERASE

See: DEL and ERASE

EXE2BIN

Converts an executable (.exe) file into a

binary file with the extension .com, which
is a memory image of the program.

The size of the resident code and data

sections combined in the input .exe file
must be less than 64 KB. The file must
also have no stack segment.
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 1 through 5. It is available
separately for version 6 on the
Supplemental Disk.[1]

EXIT

Exits the current command processor. If

the exit is used at the primary command, it
has no effect unless in a DOS window
under Microsoft Windows, in which case
the window is closed and the user returns
to the desktop.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

EXPAND

The Microsoft File Expansion Utility is used

to uncompress one or more compressed
cabinet files (.CAB). The command dates
back to 1990 and was supplied on floppy
disc for MS-DOS versions 5 and later.[7][1]

FAKEMOUS

FAKEMOUS is an IBM PS/2 mouse utility

used with AccessDOS. It is included on the
MS-DOS 6 Supplemental Disk.[8][9]
AccessDOS assists persons with
disabilities.

FASTHELP

Provides information for MS-DOS

commands.

FASTOPEN

A command that provides accelerated

access to frequently-used files and
directories.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and later.[1]

FC

Show differences between any two files, or

any two sets of files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later – primarily non-IBM
releases.[1]

FDISK

The FDISK command manipulates hard

disk partition tables. The name derives
from IBM's habit of calling hard drives fixed
disks. FDISK has the ability to display
information about, create, and delete DOS
partitions or logical DOS drive. It can also
install a standard master boot record on
the hard drive.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS 2.0
releases and later.[1]

FIND

The FIND command is a filter to find lines

in the input data stream that contain or
don't contain a specified string and send
these to the output data stream. It may
also be used as a pipe.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
FINDSTR

The FINDSTR command is a GREP-

oriented FIND-like utility. Among its uses is
the logical-OR lacking in FIND.

FINDSTR "YES NO MAYBE"

*.txt

would find all TXT files with one or

more of the above-listed words YES,
NO, MAYBE.

FOR

Iteration: repeats a command for each out

of a specified set of files. The FOR loop
can be used to parse a file or the output of
a command.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
FORMAT

Deletes the FAT entries and the root

directory of the drive/partition, and
reformats it for MS-DOS. In most cases,
this should only be used on floppy drives
or other removable media. This command
can potentially erase everything on a
computer's drive.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

GOTO

The Goto command transfers execution to

a specified label. Labels are specified at
the beginning of a line, with a colon
(:likethis).
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 2 and later.[1]

Used in Batch files.

GRAFTABL

The GRAFTABL command enables the

display of an extended character set in
graphics mode.[10]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3 through 5.[1]

GRAPHICS

A TSR program to enable the sending of

graphical screen dump to printer by
pressing <Print Screen>.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 2 and later.[1]

HELP

Gives help about DOS commands.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 thru Windows XP. Full-screen
command help is available in MS-DOS
versions 6 and later.[1] Beginning with
Windows XP, the command processor
"DOS" offers builtin-help for commands by
using /? (e.g. COPY /? )

IF

IF is a conditional statement, that allows

branching of the program execution. It
evaluates the specified condition, and only
if it is true, then it executes the remainder
of the command line. Otherwise, it skips
the remainder of the line and continues
with next command line.

Used in Batch files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

INTERSVR and INTERLNK

In MS-DOS; filelink in DR-DOS.

Network PCs using a null modem cable or

LapLink cable. The server-side version of
InterLnk, it also immobilizes the machine
it's running on as it is an active app (As
opposed to a terminate-and-stay-resident
program) which must be running for any
transfer to take place. DR-DOS' filelink
is executed on both the client and server.

New in PC DOS 5.02, MS-DOS 6.0.[11][1]

JOIN

The JOIN command attaches a drive letter

to a specified directory on another
drive.[11] The opposite can be achieved via
the SUBST command.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3 through 5. It is available
separately for versions 6.2 and later on the
Supplemental Disk.[1]

KEYB

The KEYB command is used to select a

keyboard layout.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and later.[1]

From DOS 3.0 through 3.21, there are

instead per-country commands, namely
KEYBFR, KEYBGR, KEYBIT, KEYBSP and
KEYBUK.

LABEL

Changes the label on a logical drive, such

as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.1 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 3 and later.[1]

LINK4

Microsoft 8086 Object Linker[12]

LOADFIX

Loads a program above the first 64K of

memory, and runs the program. The
command is available in MS-DOS versions
5 and later.[1] It is included only in MS-
DOS/PC DOS. DR-DOS used memmax,
which opened or closed lower, upper, and
video memory access, to block the lower
64K of memory.[13]

LOADHIGH and LH

A command that loads a program into the

upper memory area.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

It is called hiload in DR-DOS.

MD or MKDIR

Makes a new directory. The parent of the

directory specified will be created if it does
not already exist.
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 2 and later.[1]

MEM

Displays memory usage. It is capable of

displaying program size and status,
memory in use, and internal drivers. It is an
external command.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 4 and later and DR DOS releases
5.0 and later.[1]

On earlier DOS versions the memory usage

could be shown by running CHKDSK . In
DR DOS the parameter /A could be used
to only show the memory usage.
MEMMAKER

Starting with version 6,[1] MS-DOS included

the external program MemMaker which
was used to free system memory
(especially Conventional memory) by
automatically reconfiguring the
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.
This was usually done by moving TSR
programs and device drivers to the upper
memory. The whole process required two
system restarts. Before the first restart the
user was asked whether to enable EMS
Memory, since use of expanded memory
required a reserved 64KiB region in upper
memory. The first restart inserted the
SIZER.EXE program which gauged the
memory needed by each TSR or Driver.
MemMaker would then calculate the
optimal Driver and TSR placement in upper
memory and modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT
and CONFIG.SYS accordingly, and reboot
the second time.[14]

MEMMAKER.EXE and SIZER.EXE were

developed for Microsoft by Helix Software
Company and were eliminated starting in
MS-DOS 7 (Windows 95); however, they
could be obtained from Microsoft's FTP
server as part of the OLDDOS.EXE
package, alongside other tools.

PC DOS uses another program called

RamBoost to optimize memory, working
either with PC DOS's HIMEM/EMM386 or a
third-party memory manager. RamBoost
was licensed to IBM by Central Point
Software.
MIRROR

The MIRROR command saves disk storage

information that can be used to recover
accidentally erased files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

version 5. It is available separately for
versions 6.2 and later on Supplemental
Disk.[1]

MODE

Configures system devices. Changes

graphics modes, adjusts keyboard
settings, prepares code pages, and sets up
port redirection.[15]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 1 and later.[1]
MORE

The MORE command paginates text, so

that one can view files containing more
than one screen of text. More may also be
used as a filter. While viewing MORE text,
the return key displays the next line, the
space bar displays the next page.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

MOVE

Moves files or renames directories.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

DR-DOS used a separate command for

renaming directories, rendir .
MSAV

A command that scans the computer for

known viruses.[16][17]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

MSBACKUP

The MSBACKUP command is used to

backup or restore one or more files from
one disk to another.

The New York Times said that MSBACKUP

"is much better and faster than the old
BACKUP command used in earlier versions
of DOS, but it does lack some of the
advanced features found in backup
software packages that are sold
separately.[18] There is another offering,
named MWBACKUP, that is GUI-oriented. It
was introduced for Windows for
Workgroups (3.11).[19]

The MSBACKUP command is available in

MS-DOS versions 6 and later.[1]

MSCDEX

MSCDEX is a driver executable which

allows DOS programs to recognize, read,
and control CD-ROMs.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

MSD

The MSD command provides detailed

technical information about the computer's
hardware and software. MSD was new in
MS-DOS 6;[1][20] the PC DOS version of this
command is QCONFIG. The command
appeared first in Word2, and then in
Windows 3.10.

MSHERC

The MSHERC.COM (also QBHERC.COM)

was a TSR graphics driver supplied with
Microsoft QuickC, QuickBASIC, and the C
Compiler, to allow use of the Hercules
adapter high-resolution graphics capability
(720 x 348, 2 colors).[21]

NLSFUNC

Loads extended Nationalization and

Localization Support from COUNTRY.SYS,
and changed the codepage of drivers and
system modules resident in RAM.
In later versions of DR-DOS 6, NLSFUNC
relocated itself into the HiMem area,
thereby freeing a portion of the nearly
invaluable lower 640KiB that constituted
the ”conventional” memory available to
software.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and later.[1]

PATH

Displays or sets a search path for

executable files.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
PAUSE

Suspends processing of a batch program

and displays the message Press any
key to continue. . . , if not given
other text to display.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

PING

Allows the user to test the availability of a

network connection to a specified host.
Hostnames are usually resolved to IP
addresses.[22]

It is not included in many DOS versions;

typically ones with network stacks will
have it as a diagnostic tool.
POWER

The POWER command is used to turn

power management on and off, report the
status of power management, and set
levels of power conservation. It is an
external command implemented as
POWER.EXE.[23]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

PRINT

The PRINT command adds or removes

files in the print queue. This command was
introduced in MS-DOS version 2.[1] Before
that there was no built-in support for
background printing files. The user would
usually use the copy command to copy
files to LPT1.
PRINTFIX

PROMPT

The PROMPT command allows the user to

change the prompt in the command
screen. The default prompt is $p (i.e.
PROMPT $p ), which displays the drive
and current path as the prompt, but can be
changed to anything. PROMPT $d ,
displays the current system date as the
prompt. Type PROMPT /? in the cmd
screen for help on this function.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 2.1 and later.[1]
PS

A utility inspired by the UNIX/XENIX ps

command. It also provides a full-screen
mode, similar to the top utility on UNIX
systems.[6]

QBASIC

An integrated development environment

and BASIC interpreter.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

RD or RMDIR

Remove a directory (delete a directory); by

default the directories must be empty of
files for the command to succeed.
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 2 and later.[1]

The deltree command in some versions of

MS-DOS and all versions of Windows 9x
removes non-empty directories.

RECOVER

A primitive filesystem error recovery utility

included in MS-DOS / IBM PC DOS.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 through 5.[1]

REM

Remark (comment) command, normally

used within a batch file, and for DR-DOS,
PC/MS-DOS 6 and above, in CONFIG.SYS.
This command is processed by the
command processor. Thus, its output can
be redirected to create a zero-byte file.
REM is useful in logged sessions or
screen-captures. One might add
comments by way of labels, usually
starting with double-colon (::). These are
not processed by the command processor.

REN

The REN command renames a file. Unlike

the move command, this command
cannot be used to rename subdirectories,
or rename files across drives. Mass
renames can be accomplished by the use
of the wildcards characters asterisk (*)
and question mark (?).[24]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]
REPLACE

A command that is used to replace one or

more existing computer files or add new
files to a target directory.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later.[1]

RESTORE

See: BACKUP and RESTORE

SCANDISK

Disk diagnostic utility. Scandisk was a

replacement for the chkdsk utility,
starting with MS-DOS version 6.2 and
later.[1] Its primary advantages over
chkdsk is that it is more reliable and
has the ability to run a surface scan which
finds and marks bad clusters on the disk.
It also provided mouse point-and-click TUI,
allowing for interactive session to
complement command-line batch run.
chkdsk had surface scan and bad
cluster detection functionality included,
and was used again on Windows NT-
based operating systems.

SELECT

The SELECT command formats a disk and

installs country-specific information and
keyboard codes. It was initially only
available with IBM PC DOS. The version
included with PC DOS 3.0 and 3.1 is hard-
coded to transfer the operating system
from A: to B:, while from PC DOS 3.2
onward you can specify the source and
destination, and can be used to install DOS
to the harddisk.

The version included with MS-DOS 4 and

PC DOS 4 is no longer a simple command-
line utility, but a full-fledged installer.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.3 and 4 and IBM PC DOS
releases 3 through 4.[1]

This command is no longer included in

DOS Version 5 and later, where it has been
replaced by SETUP.

SET

Sets environment variables.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
cmd.exe in Windows NT 2000, 4DOS,
4OS2, 4NT, and a number of third-party
solutions allow direct entry of environment
variables from the command prompt.
From at least Windows 2000, the set
command allows for the evaluation of
strings into variables, thus providing inter
alia a means of performing integer
arithmetic.[25]

SETUP

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1] This command
does a computer setup. With all
computers running DOS versions 5 and
later, it runs the computer setup, such as
Windows 95 setup and Windows 98 setup.
SETVER

SetVer is a TSR program designed to

return a different value to the version of
DOS that is running. This allows programs
that look for a specific version of DOS to
run under a different DOS.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

SHARE

Installs support for file sharing and locking

capabilities.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3 and later.[1]
SHIFT

The SHIFT command increases number of

replaceable parameters to more than the
standard ten for use in batch files. This is
done by changing the position of
replaceable parameters. It replaces each
of the replacement parameters with the
subsequent one (e.g. %0 with %1, %1 with
%2, etc.).

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

SIZER

The external command SIZER.EXE is not

intended to be started directly from the
command prompt. Is used by MemMaker
during the memory-optimization process.
SMARTDRV

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

SORT

A filter to sort lines in the input data

stream and send them to the output data
stream. Similar to the Unix command
sort . Handles files up to 64k. This sort
is always case insensitive.[26]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

SUBST

A utility to map a subdirectory to a drive

letter.[11] The opposite can be achieved via
the JOIN command.
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 3.1 and later.[1]

SYS

A utility to make a volume bootable. Sys

rewrites the Volume Boot Code (the first
sector of the partition that SYS is acting
on) so that the code, when executed, will
look for IO.SYS. SYS also copies the core
DOS system files, IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and
COMMAND.COM, to the volume. SYS does
not rewrite the Master Boot Record,
contrary to widely held belief.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]
TELNET

The Telnet Client is a tool for developers

and administrators to help manage and
test network connectivity.[27]

TIME

Display the system time and waits for the

user to enter a new time. Complements the
DATE command.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 1 and later.[1]

TITLE

Enables a user to change the title of their

MS-DOS window.
TREE

It is an external command, graphically

displays the path of each directory and
sub-directories on the specified drive.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS
releases 2 and later.[1]

TRUENAME

Internal command that expands the name

of a file, directory, or drive, and display its
absolute pathname as the result. It will
expand relative pathnames, SUBST drives,
and JOIN directories, to find the actual
directory.

For example, in DOS 7.1, if the current

directory is C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM, then
 C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM>TRUENAME
..\WIN.INI
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI

The argument does not need to refer to an

existing file or directory: TRUENAME will
output the absolute pathname as if it did.
Also TRUENAME does not search in the
PATH.
For example, in DOS 5, if the current
directory is C:\TEMP, then TRUENAME
command.com will display
C:\TEMP\COMMAND.COM (which does not
exist), not C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM (which
does and is in the PATH).

This command displays the UNC

pathnames of mapped network or local CD
drives. This command is an
undocumented DOS command. The help
switch "/?" defines it as a "Reserved
command name". It is available in MS-DOS
version 5.00 and later, including the DOS 7
and 8 in Windows 95/98/ME. The C library
function realpath performs this
function. The Microsoft Windows NT
command processors do not support this
command, including the versions of
command.com for NT.

TYPE

Displays a file. The more command is

frequently used in conjunction with this
command, e.g. type long-text-file
| more . TYPE can be used to
concatenate files ( type file1 file2
> file3 ); however this won't work for
large files—use copy command instead.
The command is available in MS-DOS
versions 1 and later.[1]

UNDELETE

Restores file previously deleted with del.

By default all recoverable files in the
working directory are restored; options are
used to change this behavior. If the MS-
DOS mirror TSR program is used, then
deletion tracking files are created and can
be used by undelete.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 5 and later.[1]

UNFORMAT

MS-DOS version 5 introduced the quick

format option ( Format /Q ) which
removes the disk's file table without
deleting any of the data. The same version
also introduced the UNFORMAT command
to undo the effects of a quick format,
restoring the file table and making all the
files accessible again. It is important to
note that UNFORMAT only works if invoked
before any further changes have
overwritten the drive's contents.[1]

VER

An internal DOS command, that reports the

DOS version presently running, and since
MS-DOS 5, whether DOS is loaded high.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
VERIFY

Enables or disables the feature to

determine if files have been correctly
written to disk. If no parameter is provided,
the command will display the current
setting.[28]

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]

VOL

An internal command that displays the

disk volume label and serial number.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 2 and later.[1]
VSAFE

A TSR program that continuously monitors

the computer for viruses.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 6 and later.[1]

XCOPY

Copy entire directory trees. Xcopy is a

version of the copy command that can
move files and directories from one
location to another.

XCOPY usage and attributes can be

obtained by typing XCOPY /? in the DOS
Command line.

The command is available in MS-DOS

versions 3.2 and later.[1]